U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Orders Maine Roofers, Lessard Roofing & Siding Inc. and Lessard Brothers Construction Inc., to Correct Violations, Implement Safety Measures, and Address $389,685 in Fines

June 1, 2018

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Orders Maine Roofer to Correct Violations,
Implement Safety Measures, and Address $389,685 in Fines

BOSTON, MA – After multiple investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit ordered a Maine roofing contractor who has operated as Lessard Roofing & Siding Inc. and Lessard Brothers Construction Inc. to implement a comprehensive safety and training program after receiving repeated citations for exposing workers to falls. The owner, Stephen Lessard, was also ordered to produce substantial documentation that will demonstrate the extent to which he is able to pay $389,685 in outstanding fines issued by OSHA.

OSHA cited Lessard Roofing & Siding Inc. and Lessard Brothers Construction Inc. for safety violations at 11 different work sites in Maine between 2000 and 2011. Stephen Lessard failed to correct the cited violations, implement appropriate safety measures, and pay accumulated fines and interest, despite being ordered to do so by the 1st Circuit in December 2011. The Court held the owner in civil contempt for defying the 2011 order.

“The 1st Circuit’s order requires Lessard to ensure that all workers at his worksites, whether his employees, employees of his subcontractors, or actual or putative independent contractors, are operating safely, after a long history of his failing to provide adequate protective measures,” said Michael Felsen, Regional Solicitor of Labor in Boston. “When necessary, as in this case, the U.S. Department of Labor will pursue appropriate measures so that employers do not flout the law or gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding employers.”

“An employer that refuses to provide effective fall safety programs, training, and safety equipment needlessly exposes its employees to deadly or disabling injuries,” said Maryann Medeiros, OSHA’s Maine Area Director.

The Court also ordered Lessard to ensure that employees and contractors use required safety equipment and fall protection; conduct worksite safety analyses and meetings; employ a “competent person” to ensure work is performed according to OSHA regulations; notify OSHA about each worksite, and allow inspectors to enter these sites; and provide financial documentation to enable the Department to determine the owner’s ability to pay the fines; submit certification of abatement of the previously cited hazards, and comply with OSHA standards.

In particular, the safety program must include recognition and acceptance of responsibility as an employer, general contractor or supervisory contractor to ensure that all their employees, independent contractors or subcontractors use all appropriate safety equipment and fall protection apparatus and follow appropriate procedures.

If the owner fails to comply with the order, the court will consider additional sanctions up to and including incarceration.

Senior Trial Attorney Maureen Canavan of the Department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston and Senior Attorney Lisa Wilson of the Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Division in Washington, D.C., litigated on behalf of OSHA.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

OSHA cited EWP Renewable Corp., doing business as Springfield Power LLC, for 25 safety violations after an employee, 23-year-old Dakota LaBrecque, of Loudon, N.H. suffered fatal injuries after he was pulled into a conveyor at the company’s Springfield plant in November 2017

 23-year-old Dakota LaBrecque, of Loudon, N.H. suffered fatal injuries after he was pulled into a conveyor at the company’s Springfield plant in November 2017

June 1, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Cites New Jersey Renewable Energy Company
Following Fatality at New Hampshire Power Plant

CONCORD, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited EWP Renewable Corp., doing business as Springfield Power LLC, for 25 safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries after he was pulled into a conveyor at the company’s Springfield plant in November 2017. The Mount Laurel, New Jersey, company faces $125,460 in proposed penalties.

OSHA inspectors found that the conveyor and other machinery lacked required safety guarding, and employees were not trained in lockout/tagout procedures to prevent equipment from unintentionally starting. OSHA also cited Springfield Power for fall hazards; electric shock and arc flash hazards; and lack of adequate emergency evacuation, fire prevention; and hazardous energy control programs.

“This employer’s failure to protect employees resulted in a tragedy that could have been prevented if training was provided and machinery was appropriately guarded,” said Rosemarie O. Cole, OSHA New Hampshire Area Director.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. View the citations here, here, and here.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.

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A 23-year-old worker was pulled into a conveyor.

EHS Today Staff | Jun 08, 2018



On Nov. 27, 2017, 23-year-old Dakota LaBrecque, of Loudon, N.H. went to work. He never returned home.

OSHA investigators have now cited EWP Renewable Corp., doing business as Springfield Power LLC, for 25 safety violations.

“This employer’s failure to protect employees resulted in a tragedy that could have been prevented if training was provided and machinery was appropriately guarded,” said Rosemarie O. Cole, OSHA New Hampshire area director.

LaBrecque suffered fatal injuries after he was pulled into a conveyor at the company’s Springfield, N.H. plant. The Mount Laurel, New Jersey, company faces $125,460 in proposed penalties.

OSHA inspectors found that the conveyor and other machinery lacked required safety guarding, and employees were not trained in lockout/tagout procedures to prevent equipment from unintentionally starting. OSHA also cited Springfield Power for fall hazards; electric shock and arc flash hazards; and lack of adequate emergency evacuation, fire prevention; and hazardous energy control programs.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 

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Dakota's Obituary


LOUDON, NH – Dakota "Koty" LaBrecque, 23, of Loudon, died unexpectedly while at work Monday, Nov. 27, in Springfield. Koty was born in the winter of 1994 in Concord to Kelley LaBrecque Smith. He grew up in Loudon and attended the Merrimack Valley School System and was a graduate of Merrimack Valley High School with the class of 2013.

After high school Koty joined the work force and earned himself a reputation as a motivated hard worker in his desired field of Landscaping, he had worked for Northeast Landscaping for several years and had most recently been working as a laborer at the Springfield Power Company. In his free time Koty loved to be outdoors. When he was younger it was being involved in youth sports and in most recent years it would be outdoors farming, hunting or fishing, or riding dirt bikes and mudding with friends. He was also a self taught musician and he loved to play his guitar.

Dakota is survived by his mother, Kelley LaBrecque Smith and his step-father, Alan Smith both of Loudon; a brother, Luke Ladd of Concord; two step-sisters, Haley Seidensticker of Manchester and Adrienne Seidensticker of Canterbury; his aunt and uncle, Terry Mullen and William Mullen of Loudon; his uncle, Arthur LaBrecque of Webster; his maternal grandmother and grandfather, Hazel and Charles Varnum of Loudon; and many, many cousins and friends. He has touched the lives of many people and will be deeply missed by those who knew him.

OSHA cited EnviroTech Services Inc. – based in Greeley, Colorado – after an employee, Jose Miguel Cisneros, died due to lack of oxygen while cleaning the inside of a railcar

OSHA Seeking $65K in Penalties in Colorado Envirotech Worker Death
June 11, 2018


Federal regulators are proposing nearly $65,000 in penalties for a Colorado company where a worker died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning the inside of a rail car.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that EnviroTech Services of Greeley didn’t provide respiratory protection, didn’t properly ventilate the car and didn’t have an emergency rescue plan.


Jose Miguel Cisneros died in December. A co-worker who tried to rescue him also was overcome by the fumes while they worked at EnviroTech’s plant in Evans.

EnviroTech provides deicing, anti-icing, dust control, soil stabilization and erosion control, according to its website. The Greeley Tribune reports the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OSHA Denver Area Office Director Herb Gibson has held an informal conference with EnviroTech Services to discuss the citations and work toward an informal settlement.



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June 7, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Cites a Colorado
Chemical Manufacturer

DENVER, CO –



The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited EnviroTech Services Inc. – based in Greeley, Colorado – after an employee died due to lack of oxygen while cleaning the inside of a railcar. A second employee who tried to rescue the co-worker was also overcome, but survived. EnviroTech Services Inc. faces $64,857 in proposed penalties.

OSHA cited the chemical manufacturer for failing to provide respiratory protection; properly ventilate a confined space; implement a permit-required confined space program; and have an emergency rescue plan in place.

“This fatality could have been prevented if the employer had complied with confined space requirements and provided protective equipment,” said Herb Gibson, OSHA Denver Area Office Director.

EnviroTech Services Inc. has held an informal conference with OSHA’s area director to discuss the citations in an attempt to enter into an informal settlement agreement.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
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GREELEY, Colo. (AP) —



Authorities say a worker died after he apparently inhaled toxic fumes while he was cleaning a train car in northern Colorado.

The Greeley Tribune reports 35-year-old Jose Miguel Cisneros and a co-worker were found unconscious in a maintenance rail yard in Evans on Tuesday. Cisneros, who worked for Envirotech in Greeley, died at a hospital, and the other man's condition has not been released.

Investigators say the train car had been used to transport hazardous material.

No other information was released.



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This past Christmas, in his family's hometown of Long Beach, Calif., Jose Miguel Cisneros — "Miguel" to his family — gathered his brothers and sister and cousins together and told them they all needed to stick together.

It was a powerful revelation for the family, who had scattered through the years. Cisneros himself hadn't returned to California for 12 years, his family said. But he was the oldest of five children and, his family said, he'd always been the unifying force between them. If he said they needed to stick together, they would.

And they did. In fact, by the time Cisneros died Tuesday in a hazardous material incident in Evans, he'd been making plans to travel back to California for Christmas at the home of his younger brother, Danny Cisneros. Miguel Cisneros was found unresponsive about 8:30 a.m. that morning in a rail yard in the 6000 block of 47th Avenue in Evans, along with one other co-worker. Authorities believe the two men, who worked for EnviroTech Services in Greeley, were cleaning a rail car that had been carrying a hazardous material and inhaled the fumes. First responders rushed both men to North Colorado Medical Center, where Cisneros later died. The second man's condition has not been released, according to a news release from the Weld County Coroner's office.

Danny, who said he saw Miguel — 9 years his senior — as a father-figure, had been on the phone with him that morning before his death.

"I spoke with him on the day of the accident," Danny said. "It was just 'I'll call you back, bro.' I missed a call later (that day) about 9 a.m. I don't know if it was paramedics calling."

Danny and Miguel talked all the time and not just about the good things. Three years ago, in the grip of a difficult time in his life, Danny told Miguel he wanted to kill himself. Miguel, being the father-figure he always had been to his youngest brother, reminded him he had more to live for, especially his kids. As he did for all his siblings when dark times arrived, he reminded Danny everything was going to get better. Life is hard, he'd say, but keep moving forward.

So Danny did, just as Miguel had throughout his life. He left Long Beach at 18 after graduating high school and moved to Alabama, where he took up various jobs such as working at a grocery store or in construction. He made his way to Greeley after that, where he got the job at EnviroTech. His family remembered him as a hard worker who made his two children and his family a priority, and he worked for them.

He'd had a relationship and a child in Alabama, but it was at church 11 years ago he met Maria Cisneros, his wife and the mother of his son. The life they built in Greeley was happy — Miguel worked and in his spare time, he took his family to the mountains because he always wanted to be outside, his son, David, said.

Miguel, like his siblings, spoke both English and Spanish, but Maria is not bilingual. When asked what were some of the things she loved most about her husband, she answered with two syllables, quick and confident: "Todo."

After a brief silence she repeated the word again. It was a statement, a fact.

"Todo" is the Spanish word for "everything."

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Obituary for José Miguel Cisneros Jose Miguel Cisneros, 35, of Long Beach California, passed away December 5th 2017 in Greeley, Co.

He was born June 27th 1982 to Raul and Marina Cisneros. In 2006 he met the love of his life, Maria Cisneros at church.

Jose was a wonderful husband, father & brother. He always put his family before anything. Jose was a hardworking and dedicated man who would never hesitate to help anyone out. He will be missed by many.

He is preceded in death by his cousin Jenny Espericueta.

His is survived by his wife Maria Cisneros; son, David Cisneros; daughter, Violet Cisneros; parents, Raul and Marina Cisneros & 3 brothers and one sister.

Female driver claims a Samsung Galaxy phone caught fire in her cup holder, destroyed her car while driving in Michigan

'I thought I was going to die:' Woman says Samsung phone caught fire, destroyed car

By:
WFLA Web Staff



June 09, 2018


DETROIT, Mich. (WFLA) - 

A Michigan woman claims thought she was going to die when her cell phone sparked a blaze that destroyed her car.

The woman, who choose not to be identified, said she was driving her car when one of two cell phones sitting in her cup holder caught fire.

“A Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S8. I thought I was going to die when I saw the sparks and the fire,” the woman told WXYZ.

She pulled over her Nissan Maxima before the flames completely engulfed her car.

“It happened quick. It just went up in flames. People were telling me to get away from the car. What if I was on the highway, stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out,” she said.

Fire investigators suspect the fire was started by a cell phone. According to reports, more than 100 Samsun phones have spontaneously bursts into flames, with some being banned from airplanes.

Samsung recalled 1 million of the the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold and stopped all sales and shipments of the Note 7, but the woman's lawyer said neither of the two phones owned by his client was on the recall list.

“We’ve contacted Samsung. They’ve been very responsible and sent a crew to examine the car and portions of the phone. Once it’s determined which of the phones and that one is recalled, it will probably save lives,” he said.

A Samsung representative told WXYZ they won't comment on pending litigation, but they “stand behind the safety of the millions of Samsung phones in the United States.”

It's still unclear if the woman plans to file a lawsuit.

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Woman says cellphone burst into flames, destroyed car while she was driving


Posted on June 10, 2018 by ABC News


WXYZ via ABCNews.com(DETROIT) — All that remains of a Michigan woman’s Nissan Maxima is a burnt out hulk after she says one of her cellphones burst into flames while she was driving. Her car is totaled, but the woman says she was just lucky to escape with her life.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke to Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ Friday after her car caught fire and burned. She now says she is considering a lawsuit.

She was driving on Evergreen Avenue in downtown Detroit on May 21 and said she had a Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S8 in her cupholder when she saw a spark and one of the phones caught fire.

“I thought I was going to die when I saw the sparks and the fire,” she told WXYZ.

“It happened quickly. It just went up in flames. People were telling me to get away from the car. What if I was on the highway stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out?” she added.

The woman pulled over to the side of the road and got out of her car. It was quickly engulfed in flames.

The Detroit Fire Department confirmed to WXYZ they responded to the fire.

Samsung has had problems with phones bursting into flames, but neither the Galaxy S4 or S8 are on recall lists. The phone maker says it is investigating the incident.

“We stand behind the quality and safety of the millions of Samsung phones in the U.S.,” Samsung said in a statement to WXYZ. “We are eager to conduct a full investigation of this matter and until we are able to examine all of the evidence, it is impossible to determine the true cause of any incident.”

Samsung dealt with major fallout from one of its phones overheating in late 2016.

The Galaxy Note7 had problems overheating and bursting into flames shortly after it was released in August 2016. It officially issued a recall the following month, and then halted production in October 2016. The Federal Aviation Administration banned the Note7 from flights in October 2016, as well.

A lawyer for the woman whose car burst into flames says they reached out to Samsung and may file a lawsuit, though none has been filed yet. The woman’s lawyer, Gerald Thurswell, said he expects a recall once an investigation is complete.

“We’ve contacted Samsung. They’ve been very responsible and sent a crew to examine the car and portions of the phone,” Thurswell told WXYZ. “Once it’s determined which of the phones [caught fire] and that one is recalled, we’ll probably save lives.”

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

A worker died when he was struck and pinned by a branch from a tree he was trimming in Annapolis, Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — 

Authorities say a worker died while trimming a tree in Maryland.

Anne Arundel County Fire spokesman Lt. Erik Kornmeyer tells news outlets that the man was struck and pinned by a branch on Sunday afternoon. Kornmeyer said it took a special operations unit around an hour to remove the deceased man, who was still harnessed 8 feet (2.4 meters) up in the tree.

County police and Maryland Occupational Safety and Health will investigate the circumstances of his death.

The man has not been identified.

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Worker dies while trimming tree in Annapolis 

Selene San Felice


ANNAPOLIS, MD
 
A worker died when he was struck and pinned by a branch from a tree he was trimming in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Fire spokesman Lt. Erik Kornmeyer said Sunday.

Fire and police were called at 3:35 p.m. to the 100 block of Sunset Drive to find the man who was still harnessed 8 feet up in the tree after he died from his injuries, Kornmeyer said.

About an hour later, the special operations unit removed the unnamed man from the tree.

County police and the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health will be investigating the circumstances of the death, Kornmeyer said.